


Chit Chat

by conniptionns



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 04:59:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11502261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conniptionns/pseuds/conniptionns
Summary: prompt: Andrew/Neil Andrew when he first admitted to himself that he was in love with Neil.





	Chit Chat

“Yahtzee!” Neil’s voice was a shrill barb that pricked on Andrew’s last nerve like he was a harp with one string.

“I know you’re cheating.” Andrew was unamused. He had been teaching Neil how to play the stupid game for three hours now and he just didn’t seem to get it. Or maybe Neil just liked to annoy the hell out of Andrew.

“I’ve never lied about anything in my life,” Neil insisted. He was sticking his tongue out at Andrew and twisting his face into an expression that made him look constipated. Andrew reached over and broke Neil’s pencil in half.

“You’re acting like I can’t still write with this.” Neil was smug.

“We’re switching to mancala if you don’t stop fucking cheating!”

“Come on! You know I don’t understand the stupid game with the pebbles,” Neil whined.

“It’s just numbers. Your degree is based on you having a concept of numbers.”

“Your mom is just numbers,” Neil grumbled.

“Your mom is dead,” Andrew said tonelessly, shaking the die out across the floor.

Neil made a frustrated groan. “Your mom is dead too. Join the club.”

“Are you the president?” Andrew asked sardonically.

“Let’s kill our dads so we’re both orphans,” Neil suggested, ignoring the game in favor of flopping on his back.

“You couldn’t get any more pathetic than you already are, even as an orphan, but I’ll give you a 4 for effort.”

“Like my four of a kind?” Neil asked slyly.

“So you admit it wasn’t a yahtzee?”

“I invoke the fifth amendment.” Neil rolled over onto his stomach and his shirt rode up his back halfway. He didn’t move to yank it down, Andrew was the only one in the room. From the angle Andrew was slouched at he could only see a few of Neil’s scars. He wanted to reach out and trace them, the new and the old.

Andrew remembered a weekend with Tilda, when Aaron had welts across his back from a switch and a busted lip, she had scoffed at Aaron’s wincing, but took him to get some tea tree oil for the wounds. She told them that scars made people unloveable. Andrew had yanked his sleeves down, frustrated with the censure of a woman who never loved him and never would and dealing with his own insecurities.

Neil made Andrew feel loved regardless of his scars, in spite of his scars, and because of his scars. There wasn’t a way to articulate that. At least not a way Andrew was aware of yet.

Andrew stopped what he was thinking. Neil had fallen asleep with his fingers wrapped around Andrew’s ankle. Reaching out was always ugly. Once you spill your soul you can’t put it back in. You can’t unlove a person. Andrew kicked his leg out, putting his sweaty sock under Neil’s nose. Neil slowly woke, taking a moment to realize why he was awake. When he realized it was Andrew’s foot he rolled over twice, landing in Andrew’s lap.

“Steamroller!” Neil declared, trying to continue rolling over Andrew. Andrew bent his knee, squeezing Neil between his thigh and hand that was splayed across his belly as a barrier. When Neil realized he was stuck he pretended to go back to sleep. While Andrew slipped off his sock and dropped it on Neil’s face, he let himself think a secret thought. He loved Neil.

“That’s for cheating at yahtzee!” Andrew bellowed while Neil spluttered, clawing at his face.

“I’m going to learn to cheat at mancala.” Neil glared through his mussed up hair.

“I’d like to see you try,” Andrew dared, kicking Neil off of him none too lightly. “You’re making me age with every breath you take.”

“Dedushka.”

“Fuck off.” Andrew laughed a small snort, but Neil smiled because he had gotten it out of Andrew. Yeah, Andrew loved Neil, and it wasn’t unrequited, at least there was that.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @conniptionns


End file.
